Fodder grass feeds also the family of grower

A field of high yielding Napier grass at Baraipara village in Palashbari upazila of Gaibandha district. One Abdul Gafur of the village cultivated the fodder grass to meet requirement of his cows and earn money from selling the rest. Photo: Star

Abdul Gafur of Baraipara village in Palashbari upazila under the district has changed his life by cultivating fodder grass.
“Earlier I struggled to arrange two square meals a day for my family as I had only .09 decimal of paternal land and two cows. Facing serious fodder crisis due to massive flooding in the area five years ago, I sought advice from Mostafa Kamal, upazila livestock officer,” Gafur said.
“Following his suggestion, I started cultivating high yielding Napier grass on my small plot. The produce helped to meet requirement for my cows and earn some money from selling the rest.
“In 2010 I cultivated Napier grass on five bighas of land on contract basis and earned a good amount. Last year I cultivated grass on nine bighas of leased land.
“It costs Tk 10,000 to cultivate grass per bigha and the yearly output can be around Tk 1 lakh. From the same roots, growers can collect grass seven times a year as use of cow dung, sometimes urea fertiliser, brings better yield,” said Gafur.
With the earning from selling grass, Gafur has purchased six bighas of land and made a brick-built house. He has also made a cowshed with a plan to set up a dairy farm with at least 20 cows.
“Napier grass has great demand in the market and dairy farm owners often contact me for supplying grass. Witnessing my success in grass farming, many poor farmers are trying to do the same,” said Abdul Gafur.
Quddus Mia, a landless peasant of the same village, said being encouraged by Abdul Gafur, he cultivated fodder grass on his homestead and earned Tk 25,000 last year.
Abdul Gafur has played a pioneer role in fodder grass cultivation that encourages many other poor and marginal farmers in the area, said Abul Kashem, district livestock officer of Gaibandha.